Where do you rate Wilson Combat in relation to other top tier manufacturers?

[Rockrivr1]

We've talked about a number of top tier manufacturers that make quality handguns but I'm wondering where you place Wilson Combat in the pecking order of those top tier companies. Companies like Les Baer, Dan Wesson, NightHawk, Ed Brown, etc. Would you say that they are equal, lower or higher in the ranking order?

 

[Buck F]

 

[not new guy]

I'm sure someone will be along shortly to dispute that those are the very top tier.

 

[AJK129]

Dan Wesson > Les Baer = Nighthawk = Ed Brown > Wilson Combat

 

[whatluck]

Probably overpriced but a solid product. More available than others in this price range.

 

[LakeTrout]

Theyre good. Better than the average manufacturer. Not as good as the crazy Gucci crap. But they’re as good as I could want for a duty or self defense product.

 

[VTski4x4]

NH > Les = EB > Wilson > DW

 

[TheRoland]

I think everyone's saying about the same thing. They're a lot nicer than average. They do have occasional not-perfect guns.

I'd happily shoot one.

 

[granitestater]

We've talked about a number of top tier manufacturers that make quality handguns but I'm wondering where you place Wilson Combat in the pecking order of those top tier companies. Companies like Les Baer, Dan Wesson, NightHawk, Ed Brown, etc. Would you say that they are equal, lower or higher in the ranking order?

Dan Wesson is not in the same top tier as the others you listed. I own a couple of Wilson’s. They are worth the extra $$ due to the no BS warranty. They replaced dim night sights on a 15 year old CQB. Never had any other problems.

 

[ChevyGuy91]

I heard they are all shit.

 

[MickeyD’s]

Mid to low of the top tier

 

[KBCraig]

I place them all in the big list of things I'll never be able to afford.

 

[drgrant]

Dan Wesson is not in the same top tier as the others you listed.

In some cases, yes it is. I'd take the cheapest DW over less beer garbage. Maybe not NH tho.

 

[granitestater]

In some cases, yes it is. I'd take the cheapest DW over less beer garbage. Maybe not NH tho.

Last I checked, Dan Wesson 1911s are built on cast frames. That is a non starter for me. Forged only. And the good news is that in recent years, Colt and Springfield have really increased their quality of production 1911s.

 

[drgrant]

Last I checked, Dan Wesson 1911s are built on cast frames. That is a non starter for me. Forged only. And the good news is that in recent years, Colt and Springfield have really increased their quality of production 1911s.

You need to do some research before you talk about things that you don't know about. Only the entry level DW guns are cast frames and quite honestly, they're fitted better than most other people's stuff in the same price class regardless and I would take an old "cast frame" RZ 45 skinflint edition gun over most other production guns even now...... Because someone bothered to put it together correctly. Back in the day those guns would put a lot of other guns at about the same amount of money right into the shitter. Eventually DW "knew that we knew" and they raised the price accordingly because they knew people would eventually pay extra for guns that weren't shit.

 

[Marty McFly]

You need to do some research before you talk about things that you don't know about. Only the entry level DW guns are cast frames and quite honestly, they're fitted better than most other people's stuff in the same price class regardless and I would take an old "cast frame" RZ 45 skinflint edition gun over most other production guns even now...... Because someone bothered to put it together correctly. Back in the day those guns would put a lot of other guns at about the same amount of money right into the shitter. Eventually DW "knew that we knew" and they raised the price accordingly because they knew people would eventually pay extra for guns that weren't shit.

Entry level hi points as well

 

[kalash]

In before "Tisas is just as gud".

I'd probably go EB=NH > WC=DW but they're all great. Heard mixed things about LB, not sure who to believe.

 

[Mark from ?]

I dont think anyone is gonna rate Tisas or Rock Island in the same league as a custom fit american made 1911 that will go tens of thousands of rounds.

Just like most of my serious clays shooter buddies the conversation starts with B guns and ends with Krieghoff and the like. Turkish guns are ok but no one expects tens of thousands count out of them. They may buy one for occasionally clay shooting and hhnting to suit their needs. I have a few CZ that serve that purpose well, but they will get eaten if I put the same amount of rounds thru them as my 725 target.

Like many say if you shoot thousands of rounds a year the gun is the cheapest part of the equation and buying a 5k over and under built for targets or a 5k 1911 made with a lifetime warranty means something

But most of these people that buy these things dont shoot them for shit. They could certainly buy a Tisas and save themselves a lot of money because its a good low round count gun that will last with the measly amount of rounds they put thru it.

I have a few Tisas for that purpose, but if I suddenly decided to go shoot idpa or some pistol competition seriously with a 1911….id start at DW and above.

And the fact remains that I can buy 10 Tisas for the price of one custom 1911. Can it be more economical to buy them use them up and throw them away??? Maybe. I dont like that idea but someone may.

 

[usp45ct]

I have or had most of the ones you named except for Les Baer. DW is nice, but not on the same level as far as I am concerned. Could be just that gun that I owned. The NH is nice and the EB is a solid choice. The Wilson I have is a LW commander and carry it over all others. To me, it is an awesome shooter at a good weight for a 1911. I guess opinions vary though.

 

[granitestater]

You need to do some research before you talk about things that you don't know about. Only the entry level DW guns are cast frames and quite honestly, they're fitted better than most other people's stuff in the same price class regardless and I would take an old "cast frame" RZ 45 skinflint edition gun over most other production guns even now...... Because someone bothered to put it together correctly. Back in the day those guns would put a lot of other guns at about the same amount of money right into the shitter. Eventually DW "knew that we knew" and they raised the price accordingly because they knew people would eventually pay extra for guns that weren't shit.

I have and DW uses cast frames on at least some of their 1911s which makes them worthless to attempt to upgrade later. Not everyone wants to start off with a high end gun but at least if an entry level gun is built on a forged frame it can be upgraded. Have you every tried to cut a cast frame to fit a beaver tail? I have and will never again because they break apart and then you have a truly worthless gun.

 

[drgrant]

I have and DW uses cast frames on at least some of their 1911s which makes them worthless to attempt to upgrade later. Not everyone wants to start off with a high end gun but at least if an entry level gun is built on a forged frame it can be upgraded. Have you every tried to cut a cast frame to fit a beaver tail? I have and will never again because they break apart and then you have a truly worthless gun.

The whole point of a DW is to buy it and never touch it again if you're doing this then you're doing it wrong. They literally only have one or two guns out of the lineup that use those frames. If you're buying a gun with the intention of immediately swapping shit out then you're better off just buying something cheap and doing that instead.

 

[Mark from ?]

The whole point of a DW is to buy it and never touch it again if you're doing this then you're doing it wrong. They literally only have one or two guns out of the lineup that use those frames. If you're buying a gun with the intention of immediately swapping shit out then you're better off just buying something cheap and doing that instead.

This....way cheaper frames/guns to build off of that are forged....like the Turk shit I mentioned above or a Springfied low end models..... Nobody starts at a Wesson for 2K and uses it as foundation.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

NH > Les = EB > Wilson > DW

I disagree on LB. I arranced for a metallurgical analysis of a frame that split when a 45 case ruptured, and the results were "consistent with specifications of 1141 hot rolled steel with no evidence of fording or heat treating as evidenced by 200x micographic study and nital etching". This is goind back decades. But in fairness to Les, he told the customer (I was in an EMC VPs office listening in on the speaker phone conversaion) he stood by his product and would offer a $50 discount on a new gun, and he would be glad to do a magnaflux analysis on the failed gun but "would have to charge for it". Something about the "And the horse he rode in on" comes to mind. Regretably, I lost report to sloppy backup procedures a couple of decades ago.

Nice equation. Id like to see it expanded to include Atlas, Springfield Prodigy, Staccato and Infinity.

 

[Noreaster]

I have 3 wilson combat products. A 45 compact, it was jamming on me and went back to the factory to be fixed. That must have been 10 years ago. Customer support was good.
A couple years ago i got one of their 308 AR10 super sniper barrels and a wilson BCA. Every case fired got stuck and needed to be mortared to get them out.
Customer service said it needed to be broken in, fire more rounds. Then they said it was the ammo (federal gold medal and a couple different hornady factory rounds). I then gauged the chamber and it would not close on the go gauge. So customer service said it was my gauge. The flat out refused to look at it and said it was not way the barrels fault.

Replace it via the place i purchased. The replacement has worked great.

Ultimately, the customer service sucks now and i would hesitate to purchase based on that.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

I have and DW uses cast frames on at least some of their 1911s which makes them worthless to attempt to upgrade later. Not everyone wants to start off with a high end gun but at least if an entry level gun is built on a forged frame it can be upgraded. Have you every tried to cut a cast frame to fit a beaver tail? I have and will never again because they break apart and then you have a truly worthless gun.

Cast frames can also have air bubbles.

There is a third option to cast or forged is machined from billet. It is also useful to pay attention to the material - for example, 4340 steel is a bit tougher than the more commonly used 4140.

Beware of internal parts that are MIM - unless "good enough" is "good enough" for you.

 

[VTski4x4]

I disagree on LB. I arranced for a metallurgical analysis of a frame that split when a 45 case ruptured, and the results were "consistent with specifications of 1141 hot rolled steel with no evidence of fording or heat treating as evidenced by 200x micographic study and nital etching". This is goind back decades. But in fairness to Les, he told the customer (I was in an EMC VPs office listening in on the speaker phone conversaion) he stood by his product and would offer a $50 discount on a new gun, and he would be glad to do a magnaflux analysis on the failed gun but "would have to charge for it". Something about the "And the horse he rode in on" comes to mind. Regretably, I lost report to sloppy backup procedures a couple of decades ago.

Nice equation. Id like to see it expanded to include Atlas, Springfield Prodigy, Staccato and Infinity.

Id put NH, Atlast, and Infinity *somewhere* on the same level. I'd put Staccato just behind *most* DWs, and Prodigy at the bottom.

 

[nstassel]

I have been disappointed with my Wilson CQB Elite 45. I have two DW pointman 9 and 45, a LB Premier 45, a TRP 45, and an STI Trojan. Of them all the Wilson has been the most trouble and went back to Wilson and still does not go into battery all the time. It maybe has 3000 rounds through it. To me that's a premium gun and it should be great. My LB has been my go to and after a trigger touch up by Derr Precision it is great. It has over 15K and it only broke a slide stop. All the rest are good shooters with less than 10K each. I think the DW are the best value over all I just don't love stainless guns. I wish I had an Alchemy, a Guncrafter and/or a NH. Some of the NH are just too gaudy.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

it only broke a slide stop. All the rest are good shooters with less than 10K each. I think the DW are the best value over all I just don't love stainless

You sir are a man of taste, culture, breeding and social sophistication. Consider your man card renewed.

 

[granitestater]

The whole point of a DW is to buy it and never touch it again if you're doing this then you're doing it wrong. They literally only have one or two guns out of the lineup that use those frames. If you're buying a gun with the intention of immediately swapping shit out then you're better off just buying something cheap and doing that instead.

the fact is gun owners like to tinker. Others buy what they can afford to have something and upgrade later. You may disagree but that is reality and 1911s are some of the most tinkered with guns. I avoid any cast 1911s.